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Triple Played: Fantasy Rock Jam lineups

I see that Rock Jam is coming up next week (Friday and Saturday, Aug. 23–24).

I went to rockjam.com to check the lineup and was underwhelmed!

The headliners are KORN and Three Days Grace. Also set to play are Lynyrd Skynyrd, Seether, Hinder, Sevendust, Queensryche, Fuel, Stars In Stereo, Pop Evil and Girls Girls, Girls.

There are a few in the 11-band lineup that I haven’t ever heard. I know it is my job to know all of that, but it is hard to keep up with all of the bands out there.

I then asked my 23-year-old son, Matthew, if there were any bands in the lineup that he would like to see. He said, “Lynyrd Skynyrd before the plane crash,” which I totally understand. We will get back to Lynyrd Skynyrd later.

In our two and a half decades of doing business in Grand Junction, the only band on that list whose music we have ever sold consistently at Triple Play Records is Lynyrd Skynyrd and that includes special orders.

I am sure that will not have any effect on ticket sales because Rock Jam, like Country Jam, is as much about a social scene as it is about music.

I thought it would be fun to come up with my dream rock jam with a lineup that potentially could bring a tremendous amount of people to the Grand Valley for a weekend.

I stuck with 11 bands over two days. My dream rock jam has a distinctive “Southern rock” rock feel to it.

Friday would open with Lynyrd Skynyrd followed by The Sheepdogs, Warren Haynes, the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Gov’t Mule. Friday night’s last act would be the Allman Brothers with Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes playing guitars.

I went with Lynyrd Skynyrd because they have done a pretty good job of keeping it together after the crash.

The Sheepdogs debut is a great example of a young band with an incredible grasp on the classic Southern rock from the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Warren Haynes, lead guitarist for Gov’t Mule, is very versatile and sat-in with the Grateful Dead as well as the Allman Brothers.

Tedeschi Trucks Band is a good-selling band with a new CD coming next week.

The Allman Brothers are the most resilient band in the history of rock ‘n’ roll, and they still draw big crowds.

Saturday’s lineup would start with Blackberry Smoke followed by the Alabama Shakes, the North Mississippi Allstars, My Morning Jacket and Drive-By Truckers. Saturday night’s headliner would be Widespread Panic.

Blackberry Smoke and Alabama Shakes both released very good debut recordings last year with the nod going to Alabama Shakes. KAFM programmer Toddler Woods went as far as to make Alabama Shakes his 2012 record of the year.

The North Mississippi Allstars, led by the Dickinson brothers, the sons of legendary studio musician Jim Dickinson, are a down and dirty rootsy blues band with a great sound.

Drive-By Truckers, already a Southern rock legend, have had some members record successful solo records.

Widespread Panic would likely draw the largest crowd of the weekend, even larger than the 2,000 plus crowd for the band’s show at Two Rivers Convention Center in 1995 when the majority of the crowd came from out of the county, according to promoter Ron Wilson of Sandstone Concerts.

There you have my dream rock jam. Would you go?

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Rock Cesario owns Triple Play Records, 530 Main St., and hosts “Acoustic Sunday” from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday on Drive 105.3 FM. Email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).